Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

On the spending review, we have set in place a process and agreed it. It will be completed by September or October. Each Minister will have examined the sections and sectors in his or her Department in respect of a review of how the money was effectively spent, which will feed into the preparation of the budget for 2012. As the Deputy is aware, the Government has signed on for fiscal targets which simply have to be achieved and that is the reason why, for the first time ever, we will have this scale of comprehensive analysis of what spending actually takes place. The spending review will not examine the presentation of the budget for 2012. Rather, it will examine the effectiveness of how moneys Voted to Departments and Ministries for this year are actually being spent.

This is an agreement that has been made, signed off on and voted on in the House. I made it perfectly clear that when the Croke Park agreement was put together that we respected its public pay element. As the Deputy is aware, the IMF and EU deal sets out certain conditions that simply have to be achieved. Ministers who have been pointing out the reality of that are talking about what is in the conditions which were signed off on by the previous Government and the EU and IMF.

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